The most expensive cities in the world to live in COVID times
- bey0ndM@gz!ne
- February 3, 2021
- Default, Lifestyle
- 0 Comments
When it comes to 2020, it’ll always be remembered as the year of COVID. The Coronavirus pandemic changed our world within a matter of days. A significant impact of these changes could be felt in the travel industry, as tourism was completely shut. Well, we did not see many “major vacation goals” pictures this year – other than maybe the Maldives, the new ‘banana bread’.
Apart from changing the ways we travelled across the globe, the pandemic also tremendously affected the cost of living in various countries.
In these turbulent times, a significant change was seen in the global rankings of the most expensive cities worldwide. These changes were a result of various factors, like currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and instability of accommodation prices. If you live in any metropolitan city as an individual, it can be quite normal to live pay check to pay check. Now, think about living in any of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world, and it’s a totally different ball game. If you are planning to take up a job overseas or going for an international assignment, you should consider checking the cost of living in these cities.
How “cost of living” is calculated for a city?
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) recently revealed its latest Worldwide Cost Living report for the year 2020. It ranks 133 cities, based on the expense of living there based on 138 financial parameters.
EIU’s 30th biannual World Cost of Living Index provided the first in-depth global study on the impact of coronavirus on the prices of different countries.
To calculate the cost of living in various cities, the EIU considers the expense of buying a set ‘basket’ of everyday goods in each city. The survey included the cost of groceries, alcohol, household supplies, utilities, apparel, toiletries, transport, rent, entertainment, and more.
10 most expensive cities in the world According to the report of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Western European cities have become more expensive during the pandemic.
On the other hand, the cost of living in eastern Europe, Africa, and North America has significantly dropped. The top position is a threeway tie between Hong Kong, Paris, and Zurich. These three cities are equally expensive to live in right now.
Interestingly, Paris and Zurich have befallen Singapore and Osaka to rank on par with Hong Kong as one of the fanciest cities in the world this year. Fourth place is acquired by Singapore, followed by Osaka and Tel Aviv, both in the fifth place. The cities of New York and Geneva have taken a joint seventh position. Further, the ninth and tenth positions have been filled by Los Angeles and Copenhagen, respectively.
Why did the trends change?
The study found that the key-driver of affordability changes was the currency movements. Paris and Zurich reached the top charts as the Euro and Swiss Franc strengthened.
The sudden drop in the prices of Singapore was the result of the pandemic. Thousands of overseas workers left the city, shrinking the population for the first time since 2003. The US dollar depreciated, while the North Asian and Western European currencies grew stronger. Many transformations in consumer behaviour were noticed this year, amidst the pandemic. The spending habits worldwide have changed, with the prices of essential goods becoming more volatile than those deemed non-essential.
The results of the report show that the rankings reshuffled as the countries that traditionally dominated in the past have lost their grounds due to the COVID pandemic.
Meanwhile, the cities of Damascus in Syria, Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Lusaka (Zambia), and Almaty in Kazakhstan were the least expensive cities of 2020.
The sudden drop in the prices of Singapore was the result of the pandemic. Thousands of overseas workers left the city, shrinking the population for the first time since 2003.
